An elephant at the Phoenix ZooPHOENIX (AP) - The Phoenix Zoo will celebrate its 50th anniversary this weekend with photos from the past and other activities.
Officials from the zoo will tell visitors how the zoo has evolved over the last five decades.
The effort to open the zoo started in 1961 when Robert E. Maytag, grandson of the founder of the Maytag appliance company, rallied friends to help open a zoo in Phoenix.
Maytag died the next year, but his wife Nancy emerged to organize the effort.
The zoo sees 1.4 million guests each year and is home to more than 1,100 animals.
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